New figures have revealed a club-by-club 'Premier League' of how much policing games is costing Norwich City and Norfolk Police – with a surprising name at the top of the table.
The list of overtime payments and other costs incurred while policing Carrow Road games in the last three seasons show that more than £300,000 has been spent on safety and crowd control measures by Norfolk Police.
And despite the Canaries' top flight adventure bringing visiting fans from the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, the most spent on a single game was on the FA Cup fourth round tie against non-league Luton Town on January 26 last year – a total of £12,442.
The least spent on a game that was policed was £222 on last season's League Cup tie against Bury on August 27.
The figures, gained by a Freedom of Information request to Norfolk Police, also reveal the numbers of officers, special constables, commanders, controllers and mounted branch sent to each game.
Officers deployed to the game as part of their regular hours are not included in the figures.
The Luton game again topped those figures, with 93 police officers needed, but more than 80 officers were required in the game against Manchester United last season, and the league and cup games against Aston Villa in 2012-13 – the season Paul Lambert left Carrow Road to join the Birmingham club.
The figures are affected by the timing of matches and intelligence reports, with games on bank holidays or in the evening often requiring more officers on overtime.
For instance, the 2011-12 game against Fulham saw just four officers needed, with no cost being recorded.
However, a season later 45 officers were needed at a cost of £4,903.
A category A, B, C or C (Increased risk – IR) rating is applied to each game, which designates the number of officers to be allocated to it, with C(IR) being the highest rating.
While Norwich City will pay for all policing in and around Carrow Road, further officers that are required in the city centre or elsewhere are paid for by Norfolk Police.
The number of arrests at Carrow Road games increased in the last three years, according to the figures.
In 2011-12, 16 people were arrested, with four being made in the 2-0 defeat against Tottenham which saw Welsh winger Gareth Bale reportedly taunted by home supporters.
In 2012-13, 22 arrests were made, and in 2013-14, 38. Eight of those were in the November win against West Ham.
What do you think? Email edpletters@archant.co.uk, with your full contact details.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here